Cold rolling is a method of cold working a metal. When a metal is cold worked, microscopic defects are nucleated throughout the deformed area. These defects can be either point defects (a vacancy on the crystal lattice) or a line defect (an extra half plane of atoms jammed in a crystal). As defects accumulate through deformation, it becomes increasingly more difficult for slip, or the movement of defects, to occur. This results in a hardening of the metal.

If enough grains split apart, a grain may split into two or more grain in order to minimize the strain energy of the system. When large grains split into smaller grains, the alloy hardens as a result of the Hall-Petch relationship. If cold work is continued, the hardened metal may fracture.

During cold rolling, metal absorbs a great deal of energy. Some of this energy is used to nucleate and move defects (and subsequently deform the metal). The remainder of the energy is released as heat.

While cold rolling increases the hardness and strength of a metal, it also results in a large decrease in ductility. Thus metals strengthened by cold rolling are more sensitive to the presence of cracks and are prone to brittle fracture.

A metal that has been hardened by cold rolling can be softened by annealing. Annealing will relieve stresses, allow grain growth, and restore the original properties of the alloy. Ductility is also restored by annealing. Thus, after annealing, the metal may be further cold rolled without fracturing.

Hot Rolling - Hot Rolling Process | Hot Rolling Application | Types of Hot Rolling Mill | Hot Rolled Steel Tube | History

Cold Rolling - Physical metallurgy | Degree of cold work | Cold Rolling Stainless Steel | Manufacturing Process

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